Eric Garner’s family hasn’t received a dime from online fundraisers - report

Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised online for the family of Eric Garner – who died via chokehold at the hands of New York police last year. The family, however, claims they don’t know where the money is from 19 crowd-funding projects.

This article has been updated to reflect GoFundMe’s
comments

A quick review of some crowd-sourcing efforts for the Garner
family include an Indiegogo “Fund for the Children of Eric
Garner” ($44,567), a Fundly campaign called the “Eric Garner
Family Support Fund” ($74,684) and two GoFundMe campaigns – one
to “Help Eric Garner’s Widow” ($1,675) and another “Support for
Esaw Garner” fund ($9,301).

Unlike in Kickstarter campaigns, where the amount raised can only
be dispersed after a set goal is reached, sites like Indiegogo
and GoFundMe can dish out cash as it comes in. In the case of
Garner’s family, members have yet to receive anything – and they
don’t know where the money is going, according to a new report by
DNAinfo.

"I feel like people are trying to use my father's name for
their own gain," Erica Garner, 24, told the website. She
said she's looking into legal action against the various
campaigns not affiliated with the family. "It's unfortunately
a sad situation."

Woah. Eric Garner's family hasn't received any money raised
from all of the crowdfunding sites - http://t.co/KFW1a6SvNw

Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died July 17 on Staten
Island after police used a chokehold in an attempt to place him
under arrest on charges of allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.
A grand jury failed to hand down an indictment against the
officer involved in the incident, resulting in a month of
citywide protests. Several organizations, including the New York
Civil Liberties Union, the New York Post and National Association
for the Advanced of Colored People are seeking to have jury
records released.

One of the GoFundMe campaigns, “Support for Esaw
Garner,” was put up by an advocacy group called the
Charlotte Activist Collective and is trying to raise $1 million
for Garner's widow, Esaw Snipes.

"We've been in touch with Esaw Garner and she supports our
fundraising efforts!" organizers wrote on their bio page.

Snipes herself could not be reached for comment, but Erica Garner
and her grandmother Gwen Carr had never heard of the fund. A
spokeswoman for GoFundMe declined to discuss the fundraiser but
said the Garner family could contact the website directly.

Nevetheless, GoFundMe has given a written comment to RT stating
that Snipes has confirmed to them she has received the raised
money from the “Support for Esaw Garner” campaign.

Officials from Charlotte Activist Collective, which has only
raised $9,301 of the total desired, did not respond to emails or
messages on their Twitter and Facebook accounts from DNAinfo.

DNAinfo looked into another fund started by St. Louis book editor
Andrew Doty which took in nearly $75,000. Doty said Fundly has
kept the money while he worked out which Garner representative to
send it to. Doty said he was bombarded by calls from people
claiming they were relatives but he has contacted the family’s
lawyer Jonathan Moore to “dole it out.”

In a related crowd-funding story, the “Detroit Walking
Man” who trekked 21 miles to and from work each day received
a great deal of attention and a sudden outpouring of donations
online. Some $350,000 was raised for James Robertson after his
story made headlines around the country, and a local Ford
dealership gave him a brand-new 2015 Ford Taurus to speed up his
commute.

Shortly afterwards, however, Robertson said he received death
threats and his girlfriend and her ex-husband started pressuring
him for a payday – even though he hasn’t received the money yet.
Before long, he was packing up his belongings under police
protection and is living in a half-way house while he finds
someplace closer to work to live.